Maghaberry suicide: Family calls for public inquiry after inquest jury finds bullying contributed

The family of a 22-year-old prisoner with ADHD who died by suicide inside Maghaberry Prison in 2018 say they want to see a full, public inquiry into Northern Ireland's Prison Service.

Daniel McConville was a remand prisoner charged with burglary who had been inside for 70 days when he was found dead in his cell.

The father-of-two had struggled with drug issues, and had 80 previous convictions.

The jury at an inquest into his death found last month that he took his own life, but jurors could not agree whether he intended to do so.

They found that bullying from jail staff and a lack of appropriate care were factors contributing to Daniel's death.

Paul McConville, Daniel's father, has been alleging that bullying played a role ever since the death, and had protested with placards outside the prison for ten months in the wake of his loss.

"The truth came out but I knew the truth the whole time," said Paul, who says that family members of other inmates had shared information about events with him.

"More needs to be done in that prison to stop this happening again."

Mr McConville said that the new prison block at Maghaberry, which cost £54million, is a lovely bright building, but that a "change of attitude" towards prisoners is needed to see change.

He acknowledged that there are often victims of crimes committed by convicted prisoners, but said that the removal of freedom is punishment enough without bullying inside as well.

The incident had previously been examined by the Prisoner Ombudsman in 2023.

This report resulted in five recommendations being made to the Prison Service and the South Eastern Trust, which provides Healthcare in prisons in NI.

However now, the family is calling for an full inquiry into NI's Prisons.

Their solicitor, Owen Beattie, says he intends to write to the Executive Office to make the request.

"There needs to be a full root and branch examination of the conditions faced by prisoners not just in Maghaberry but in prisons throughout the jurisdiction, and the only appropriate format, we say, for that, is through a public inquiry," he revealed in an interview with UTV.

"We do intend to write to the Executive Office, and the other state actors that are very much important to this process, to call on them to bring forward a public inquiry, so that the death of Daniel McConville and others in similar circumstances, can be prevented in the future."

Asked if he felt there would be pubic appetite for such an investigation, Mr Beattie said: "I think that we as citizens, and the wider state at large, need to be mindful that the state, which is funded through taxpayers money, is responsible for the care of its' fellow citizens in the prison regime, so it's important that steps are taken to ensure that they are properly looked after.

"If the question is, will there be a wider buy-in, in our view, yes there is, because one never knows when a family member could find themselves in this unfortunate and terrible situation."

Both the Prison Service and the South Eastern Trust extended their sympathies to the McConville family, and said that there have been lessons learned.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: "Following a review of the Supporting Prisoners at Risk procedures, a new person-centred approach is now being delivered which aims to support someone through a period of crisis or distress, as well as addressing the root cause of the issue."

The South Eastern Trust also referenced new practices in a statement.

"Every patient who enters prison is now offered a face to face mental health screening assessment from a Mental Health professional," said a statement.

"We are very committed to learning and to improving the health services available for all those in our care."

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